Newsletter

The Newsletter

Perhaps a scholar who is, among others, responding to a developing Asia, to the evolving inclusiveness of Asian Studies, to the significance of language, and to the increasing demand for alternative scholarship. We put this question to our colleagues; their answers can be found in the pages of our Focus.

Even as borders are increasingly being bridged today through international cooperation, many border peoples across the world live precarious existences in military battle zones. Bringing together essays by anthropologists, historians, and ethnomusicologists, this Focus section refocuses the readers’ gaze on militarized borderlands in Asia. The articles portray the far-reaching impacts of militarization on those who live in the immediate proximity of the border, as well as on those who move away. All the articles share a concern for the travails of the people living in militarized borders, and their attempts to cope or overcome, in symbolic, material, and imagined forms.

The study of Central and Inner Asia faces a multitude of challenges, brought about by the break-up of the Soviet Union, the emergence of new states, the rise of China, the development of new national narratives, and a diminishing interest from Europe and the United States. This edition of the Focus addresses some of the problems, and proposes new policies to promote the proper understanding of a region that, to many, lies in a disregarded area on the map of the world.

In this edition of the Focus, guest editor Adele Esposito introduces the research perspective developed by a group of young scholars and heritage practitioners involved in the new MA Program ‘Critical Heritage Studies of Asia and Europe’ (Leiden University). The first group of graduates, together with young scholars working on heritage in Asia, have collectively produced a ‘manifesto’ with the purpose of initiating a proactive and policy-oriented debate on the politics of heritage, to which all our readers are invited to contribute.

Can film directors be considered to be historians of some sort? Do documentaries capture the sign of the times? Do they act as agents of change? How do new generations of filmmakers deal with old histories? Scholars are familiar with close reading of texts, but do they similarly ‘close read’ images?

Through a dialogue on documentary film, Fridus Steijlen & Bart Barendregt spark the debate in this issue’s pullout section of the Focus.

Although the issue of violence against women (VAW) has received much attention, the scourge of violence in homes is far from being diminished. Though a universal phenomenon, VAW is also contextspecific. For the Focus in this issue of The Newsletter, seven scholars explore the question of family ambiguity within a comparative Asian context, especially as to how family norms and state laws in diverse national, cultural and religious settings interact to address or worsen the problem. By dealing with family ambiguity as a central critique of the domestic violence debate, they interrogate the gaps between concept, law and process.

The Focus | Sustainable Humanosphere Studies: Towards new models of socio-economic development. Guest Editor Mario Lopez presents multidisciplinary research from scholars who are engaged in sustainability studies in Southeast Asia. This issue’s contributions to the Focus section emphasize the important collaborations that are currently taking place between disciplines to address complex socio-economic transformations in the region.

Maarten Bode presents articles from ten scholars on Traditional Indian Medicine. Contributions to this issues’ Focus section consider the contemporary relevance of TIM, its integration into India’s public health system and its role in the west as a form of ‘complementary and alternative medicine’. They explore current and related topics such as providers of Indian medicine, their practices and status, consequences of the commercialisation of Indian medicine, the role of the state, and positivist research.

Ordained by poet W. H. Auden in the 1930s as a city where “nothing serious could ever happen”, and whose citizens were described only thirty years ago as “among the most unrepresented, forgotten people in Asia”, Macao is now experiencing a remarkable resurgence. In this edition of the Focus, guest editor Tim Simpson outlines the Macao of yesterday, today and the future.

Asia's remarkable economic and political growth has led some to believe that future historians will be calling the twenty-first century the 'Asian Century'. One of the most important factors fuelling growth is the region's rapid urbanization. Urban Studies and Architecture are important disciplines for anyone interested in trying to pragmatically direct this growth, and help to improve people's lives. In the focus section of this issue , guest editors Gregory Bracken and Bart Kuijpers present 'New Designs for Asia' - student work from the Architecture Faculty, TU Delft, the Netherlands.

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The Newsletter

The Newsletter is a free academic publication produced three times a year by the International Institute for Asian Studies. With a worldwide readership of about 50,000 The Newsletter is the premier Asian Studies forum for Asia scholars to share commentary and opinion; research essays; book, journal and website reviews; and announcements of events, projects and conferences, with colleagues in academia and beyond. | Take a free subscription

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About IIAS

IIAS is a Humanities and Social Sciences research institute and knowledge exchange platform. It encourages the multidisciplinary study of Asia and initiates programmes that engage Asian and other international partners. IIAS facilitates fellowships, organises conferences and publishes The Newsletter, our free periodical on Asian Studies.

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